William Faulkner was one of the greatest American authors of all time. Born on September 25, 1897 in New Albany, Mississippi, Faulkner wrote many outstanding novels in his lifetime and won many awards for his work. Being raised in Mississippi helped Faulkner to develop his unique writing style. Faulkner utilizes the harsh Southern atmosphere and the experiences he had as a kid in his writing to help the reader to truly visualize what it was like to live in the South. First of all, Faulkner wrote some of his works through the perspectives of multiple characters. For example, his novel, As I Lay Dying, tells the story of a family and their journey to bury their late mother. The story is told through the perspective of the different family members and some of the people that they encounter during their journey. Though this makes the novel more difficult to read, the reader can further understand what is …show more content…
Faulkner was born and raised in the South during a time when blacks were still not treated equally. There was a lot of hostility at that time and young Faulkner got to experience all of it firsthand. All of these experiences were integrated into Faulkner’s writing. His writing also contained harsh and racist language. Even though he was not thought to be a racist himself, this type of diction truly helped the reader to visualize what it was like to live in the South at that time. The reader could envision the cruelty black people had to tolerate during those times. In his book, Light in August, the intense racism is made very apparent. “Her folks come down here in the Reconstruction, to stir up the niggers. Two of them got killed doing it. They say she is still mixed up with the niggers. Visits them when they are sick, like they was white.” (21) Blacks are clearly not seen as equal to whites and Faulkner uses this fact in order to exemplify the separation between the two